‘A one-of-a-kind experience.’ UK gymnasts upset No. 3 Alabama in return to Memorial.
A proud, 4,799 strong showed up and showed out to catch No. 8 Kentucky gymnastics upset No. 3 Alabama 197.300-196.100 in the program’s home opener. The event not only notched the Wildcats a Southeastern Conference win in the young 2025 season but served as a soft opening and official return to Historic Memorial Coliseum.
Kentucky (3-1, 1-0 SEC) spent last season in Rupp Arena while the Coliseum underwent an ambitious, $82 million renovation and, for the athletes, the work was well worth the wait. Fifth-year senior Isabella Magnelli — who tied for first on the vault with Alabama’s Lilly Hudson after recording a score of 9.925 and finished first outright on the balance beam with a 9.925 — celebrated the team’s return to its longtime home and the final home opener of her collegiate career.
“It was absolutely amazing,” Magnelli said. “BBN really showed out tonight. This place was packed, and it was so loud, the energy was absolutely amazing. And just to have my last first home meet with Team 51 and have all these fans just come out and just support us, it’s truly such a blessing, and it’s such an amazing time.”
Kentucky’s roster is a rather young one. With eight newcomers and six sophomores, 14 Wildcats got to experience Memorial Coliseum for the first time, including sophomore Delaynee Rodriguez, who tied with Hudson in the all-around competition at 39.450. Rodriguez also posted a 9.900 on the balance beam, tying for second behind Magnelli with Alabama’s Gabby Gladieux and Kentucky sophomore Sharon Lee, and placed third on the uneven bars with a 9.900. She also recorded a 9.800 on the vault, tying for ninth in the event, and tied for fourth in the floor exercise with a 9.875 alongside Hudson and Magnelli, the latter of whom stressed with her fellow upperclassmen to the younger gymnasts that competing in Memorial is like nothing else.
“We told the sophomores and the freshmen,” Magnelli said. “We were like, ‘Memorial? You think Rupp was fun to compete in? Memorial is even more fun.’ I mean, it seems crazy because it’s more intimate, the fans are closer, and we’re just able to really interact with one another. We told them from the beginning, we were like, ‘We cannot wait to get into Memorial. You guys are gonna absolutely love it.’ And, I mean, it pretty much showed today. Girls stepped up in that position, and they really showed out. And that has a lot to do with our fan base, for sure.”
Rodriguez said that, after giving her floor routine, she took a moment to appreciate how much fun she was having, and that “it’s seriously like no other feeling.” When asked what it meant to earn the top-10 upset, Rodriguez said it was “really just believing in ourselves,” that gave the Wildcats all that they needed to take care of business.
“Having so much confidence in the whole team, and trusting one another really makes a huge difference,” Rodriguez said. “I think we were just really trying to bring the energy today, and, I think, really at the end of the day, just being so confident in myself, because that’s really truly all that matters.”
Kentucky fifth-year Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, an All-America transfer from Washington, tied for first on the uneven bars with Alabama’s Ryan Fuller, posting a final score of 9.925. Kentucky fifth-year Hailey Davis tied with Gladieux for first place on the floor with a 9.900.
Kentucky head coach Tim Garrison said he felt like he saw his athletes display against Alabama what they’ve worked so hard to perfect in their training.
“I liked the energy, top to bottom in the room, first of all,” Garrison said. “I think the environment created a pretty sizable advantage for us. But, I’ll tell you what, top-to-bottom performance from our team, starting on vault, incredible start on vault. And they just followed through on every event. So I didn’t feel like we had a weak spot tonight.”
The Wildcats’ 2025 campaign began in Oklahoma City on Jan. 11 with the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad, where they finished second among some of the nation’s top competition and defeated both then-No. 16 Ohio State and then-No. 8 Arkansas. Then-No. 10 UCLA edged Kentucky by a mere .05 to claim victory in the meet. It was, ultimately, the Wildcats’ performance on vault that propelled them back into second place, after a few miscues resulted in deductions.
“Last week we struggled on some things,” Garrison said. “We had some people had outstanding performances, we had others that just just didn’t perform to the level that we’re used to seeing them perform. The last three athletes that competed on the vault to close out the meet last week were the reason we were able to get back into second place. So that’s what we’re looking to see. That’s what we saw tonight. Now, we didn’t have a letdown tonight, but we didn’t have a letdown because they didn’t allow it to happen.”
Garrison ended his postgame media availability with a call to Big Blue Nation, sending words of appreciation to those who attended and asking UK fans to “come out here and experience” everything that the gritty Kentucky gymnastics program has to offer.
“Coming in tonight and having this incredible crowd that was loud from start to finish,” Garrison said. “Definitely a helping hand to the team. We definitely fed off that atmosphere and fed off that environment. This place is gorgeous. If you haven’t been here yet, you need to come out here and experience a gymnastics meet. Women’s basketball, too. But definitely experience a gymnastics meet. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience.”
Kentucky will travel next to Missouri for a battle with the No. 10 Tigers on Sunday at 6 p.m. EST (SEC Network).
This story was originally published January 18, 2025 at 10:27 AM.
